Google and Skype invest in community WiFi

New Internet access network Fon has secured 18 million euros in initial financing from Skype and Google, and venture capital firms Index Ventures and Sequoia Capital. This system works by users pooling available bandwidth, to enable free WiFi roaming - broadband wireless Internet everywhere. Aiming to achieve what 3G or EVDO cannot, Fon is of great interest to companies like Skype and Google.

The man behind Fon, Martin Varsavsky - the founder of the Spanish portal ya.com and the Spanish telco Jazztel - describes it as 'a global community of people who share WiFi connections'.